Exodus 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Let me first say this devotional has nothing to do with salvation. This is not a salvation issue. Having said that allow me to give you a rare thus saith the LORD.

“If you cannot hear me, it is not my fault.”

Why is it that believers feel like they never hear God? I understand non-believers making that claim, but why do so many Christians say it? I expect there are as many reasons as there are those who say it. We all like to think our reasons are special. Maybe they are, but I look to the bible and seek the examples set forth by the Word. Here is the first one.

“I don’t want to hear God speak to me.”

That isn’t just fear talking if you are thinking 20:19 is about fear. The “lest we die” part isn’t all about fear. Moses speaks directly to the issue in verse 20 with “that ye sin not”. Heaven forbid that the God who knows my every fault should call me on my sins and tell me to stop. It is much easier to listen to a pastor preach and every now and then when the subject of my sin comes up, I can lie to myself and say he must be talking about someone else. The pastor will never know. If he figures it out, I can always change churches.

That is about the weakest excuse I can think of because it still does not address what God thinks about what we are doing. This brings me around to point two.

Numbers 14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

They have no respect for what the Word of God says.

More on this tomorrow.

Isaiah 6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Light is invisible to the human eye. How we perceive objects is the absorption of different color frequencies and the reflection of some color frequencies within the light spectrum which then enter the eye and then are transmitted from the retina to the brain forming images. If light were visible, we would not see anything except the overwhelming issue of light from its source, the sun.

Then we have the ultra-violet and infra-red wave lengths that are just outside the range of the human eyes ability to perceive. Beyond that there are more waves with the same properties as light but with different frequencies. We have instruments to record and measure those so we do know they exist.

Hearing is similar as sight in that frequencies exist that are beyond the human’s range of capability to perceive. Perception only exists in as much as we can naturally hear and see or detect by invention to analyze and record by non-human means, instrumentation. Even then science has to rely upon a fair amount of theory to explain the unexplained. Particles that move faster than the speed of light cannot be seen or felt, yet have been deemed to exist because of causal effect.

Matthew 13:16-17 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

How is it that some can see and hear what others cannot? What instrument of perception makes this possible?

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The gift of the Holy Ghost i.e. Holy Spirit is the instrument of perception. He is the eyes that see and the ears that hear, but only to them who believe.